The mystery of just who was behind those freewheeling tunes that kept the crowds groovin’ during Fare Thee Well’s intermissions has been revealed! Circles Around the Sun, a band convened by guitarist Neal Casal, formed specifically to record just for the shows and the results were so captivating, and the audience response so overwhelmingly positive, we decided to give the music a proper release.

The project began when Casal was asked by video director Justin Kreutzmann to compose and record more than five hours of original music to be played along with the visuals Kreutzmann was preparing for the Fare Thee Well intermissions. “The idea was to not only show reverence for the past but to ultimately, move it forward. If there’s anything to be learned from the Grateful Dead, it is to dissolve your boundaries, push your limits, and discover your own voice in this world,” explains Casal, the lead guitarist and co-lyricist for The Chris Robinson Brotherhood and part-time member of Phil Lesh and Friends.

Casal was joined in the studio by keyboardist Adam MacDougall, a fellow member of Robinson’s Brotherhood and Lesh’s Friends. The balance of Circles Around The Sun consists of bassist Dan Horne (Beachwood Sparks, Jonathan Wilson) and drummer Mark Levy (The Congress). All of the music on INTERLUDES FOR THE DEAD was written collectively – with nothing prepared beforehand or added afterward – and recorded live by engineer J.P. Hesser.

Stella Blue’s Band

Stella Blue’s Band is a band on a mission. Attracting both talented musicians and kind folks, a project born out of love for the music, and jamming for fun, has blossomed into a force to be reckoned with in the Tri-State area’s Grateful Dead tribute band scene.
THE MISSION:
To explore their own unique improvisational sensibilities while staying faithful to the style of the Grateful Dead, in search of that special musical alchemy that results when the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. Playing the music we love, and loving doing it for a kind loving community who come to Groove, Dance and Rage to the Good Ole Grateful Dead!